England boss Gareth Southgate has done Tottenham a big favour ahead of this weekend’s visit from table-topping Liverpool after it emerged Dele Alli and Harry Kane won’t feature against Switzerland.
The Three Lions started their UEFA Nations League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Spain on Saturday at Wembley and face a friendly against Switzerland at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night.
Kane and Alli won’t be involved in the clash against Xherdan Shaqiri’s side, boosting their chances of playing against Jurgen Klopp 's side at Wembley on Saturday lunchtime report the Liverpool Echo .
Attacking midfielder Alli has withdrawn from the England squad with a minor muscle strain and is expected to be fit for the visit of Liverpool, while Southgate revealed that Kane is unlikely to be risked.
“(Alli) has just had a minor strain and should be fine for his club at the weekend I would think,” said Southgate.
“But tomorrow’s game will come too quickly. I thought his performance was good (vs Spain).
“In terms of his retention of the ball, I thought he was improved in that area. His work without the ball has been good over the last six months with us.”
Kane has a good record against the Reds, having scored three times for Spurs in the two clashes last season and Southgate explained that the England captain isn’t expected to play at the King Power.
“Harry falls in that category in which we have several players where we have to watch how much they play,” Southgate added.
“It was a short break (after the World Cup) with no pre-season and everybody was back earlier than everybody would have expected for club matches, although that is entirely understandable.
“Is he due a rest? I think so. We talked a bit after the World Cup about the demands of the modern player.
“Everybody has got to play a part in that but the clubs own the player and they have got to do the right thing for them.
“Normally, we have not got opposing objectives but the clubs would be holding their breath and hiding behind their sofas watching our teams go out.
“But this is one of those occasions where we want to look at our squad and do the right thing with the players for our long-term benefit.”
